Temple City Unified drop-out rate increased by 108.3 percent compared to previous school year

Temple City Unified drop-out rate in the 2017-18 school year increased by 108.3 percent compared to the previous school year’s drop-out rate of 1.2, according to the California Department of Education.

CDE data shows that graduation and dropout rates continue to confirm that there is a growing achievement gap between Latino, Black, and English learner students. The achievement gap refers to the disparities in academic performance associated with race and class.

According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2018, of the 48 states where data was collected, Black males remain at the bottom of four year high school graduation rates.

Closing the achievement gap earlier in the schooling process, such as during elementary school, can improve high school graduation rates and decrease drop-out rates. Individually tailored student support is one way that has been proposed to accomplish this.

In The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout, Terrence J. Lee-St. John, a Biostatistician at the Research Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, says “students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. Individually tailored student support during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.”